the director of elections tells us it's going to get busier here. we talked to voters about the issues and candidates that are bringing them to the polls this afternoon. >> mostly the education propositions made me come out, definitely. it's my first presidential election i've gotten to vote in. that's exciting. >> the educational ones, the ones for schools. i'm an ex-teacher, a retired teacher. >> the most important one was barack obama. he made a difference in the world today. >> reporter: excluding the 2008 election, typical turn out is about 71%. the director of elections says this election may dip below that, though he's not sure why. as of last night, turn out stood at about 25%. things will be getting a lot busier here between 5-8:00 p.m. at the larger polling stations in san francisco. we'll be reporting on turn out through the evening. >> gay marriage is on the ballot in four states. voters in maryland, maine, and washington state will decide if they should make same-sex marriage legal. in minnesota, a gay marriage ban is on the ballot. >>